Corbella: Don’t sell our transmission lines to U.S. company

Electrical static and lots of it. That’s what Alberta’s politicians should get over news that a U.S. company is trying to buy AltaLink, Alberta’s largest power transmission company, for $3.2 billion.

If you assumed that such critical infrastructure like transmission lines were off limits to foreign companies, you’d be wrong, but you should be right.

Earlier this month, SNC-Lavalin Group announced that it is selling its Alberta electricity transmission company, AltaLink, to Berkshire Hathaway Energy, which is majority owned by iconic billionaire Warren Buffett.

On one level, some Albertans might be relieved to sever all ties to Quebec-based SNC Lavalin, which has been mired in a series of bribery and corruption scandals involving top executives in 2012, and who now face criminal fraud charges.

But selling off a company that owns 12,000 kilometres of transmission lines in Alberta is not the best way to shake AltaLink free from the taint of corruption and scandal. Indeed, that cure is worse than the disease.

As ATCO president and CEO Nancy Southern told the Edmonton Journal recently, transmission lines are “critical infrastructure” that should remain in Canadian hands.

“I believe there should be greater strategic thinking from our government and from the (energy) regulators about what is critical infrastructure, and what is important in driving economic growth in our province,” said Southern. “This has very large implications for Canada.”

Albertans have always been wary — even paranoid — about our electricity being exported and Albertans not being appropriately refunded for having participated as ratepayers in the building of the infrastructure.

While Buffett is clearly a highly respected financier and philanthropist, Albertans should not be under any delusions that he’s interested in AltaLink’s transmission lines out of grandfatherly benign motives. He wants to make a lot of money for his investors and himself by possibly exporting our power on lines we all paid for — and continue to pay for — which is simply not in the best interest of Albertans and Canadians. Where does Buffett’s loyalties lie? Clearly with the U.S., which is reasonable.

Edmonton-born Greg Abel, who runs Berkshire Hathaway Energy for Buffett, described AltaLink as the “beachhead” in a Globe and Mail story, from which the company can “look at other incremental opportunities over the long term.”

Wildrose MLA Joe Anglin, the energy critic for Alberta’s official Opposition, says the Wildrose Party has serious concerns about this potential sale.

“AltaLink’s transmission lines are an umbilical — you might call it a lifeline — for our economic well-being and Alberta is the economic engine of the country,” said Anglin during an interview on Thursday evening.

“Our economic health relies on this critical infrastructure.”

Anglin’s right. Reliable and affordable electricity is the very backbone of any growing economy. Without it, industry and therefore jobs and social services would suffer.

“You recall the debate around Bill 50,” said Anglin. ”Well, under that bill, one of those transmission lines approved under that bill was deemed critical to Alberta’s economy. It was called critical infrastructure, and now we’re potentially selling it to a foreign company? How can that be? That seems risky.”

What is there in our laws for the Alberta public to have the guarantee that this is going to be managed properly in the interest of Albertans and not in the interest of Berkshire Hathaway and its stockholders?

Anglin also points out that “AltaLink’s control centre plays a vital role in managing our system and this will again be controlled by a foreign company. That’s unusual.”

Actually, in Canada, it would be unprecedented. This would be the first sale of transmission to a non-Canadian company in this country’s history.

Anglin points out that since the public has helped pay for this critical infrastructure, AltaLink shouldn’t necessarily be sold just to the highest bidder (which is good for SNC-Lavalin), but to the bidder offering the least risk and the highest rewards to Albertans as well.

For instance, Anglin says if one of Alberta’s other utilities won the bid, some of the redundancies in the system could be removed and the savings passed onto consumers through the regulatory bodies overseeing transmission.

That’s an excellent point. While some redundancies are necessary for a reliable electrical grid, there is likely room for efficiencies to be found by consolidating control centres and company management costs.

Alberta Energy Minister Diana McQueen said during an interview Wednesday that the Alberta Utilities Commission will consider whether the sale impacts rates, the transmission system or the continuation of Alberta’s reliable and safe service. The federal government’s Investment Canada Act will determine if the sale will do no harm.

“Do no harm” is a pretty low threshold. At the very least, it should be that the sale of such critical infrastructure is of net benefit to Canadians.

Frankly, it would just be a lot simpler and wiser to outlaw the sale of critical infrastructure to non-Canadian companies.

Albertans should demand from our politicians that this sale not be allowed and that the rules should ban such sales in the future.

Static will stop this foolhardy sale of our infrastructure. You can stop it.

Licia Corbella is a columnist and the editorial page editor.

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